Practice Sights: State Primary Care Development Strategies

From 1993 to 1998, the South Dakota Department of Health addressed the decline in the number of its rural practice sites by creating four Regional Coordinated Care Networks to promote primary care linkages in underserved areas. Each network links three or more practice sites within a service area so they can provide support services to each other.

The health department's Office of Rural Health and Primary Care shared responsibility for the initiative with the University of South Dakota's Section on Rural Health.

The project was part of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) Practice Sights: State Primary Care Development Strategies national program.

Key Results:

The four Regional Coordinated Care Networks received grants for demonstration projects, as well as technical assistance from Department of Health staff and consultants on recruitment, retention and service integration.